Figure 2. A sample of Gademotta pointed artifacts exhibiting micro- and macrofracture features indicative of projectile weaponry. show more (A, B) fracture wings on transverse fractures; (C, D) fracture wings on burin-like fractures; (E) impact fractures on two fracture fronts on the distal portion. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0078092.g002
Earliest Stone-Tipped Projectiles from the Ethiopian Rift Date to >279,000 Years Ago Yonatan SahleW. Karl HutchingsDavid R. BraunJudith C. SealyLeah E. MorganAgazi Ne..........
What a joke! If there are no spear throwers, then there are no spears - DOH!
They really mean javelins here. A spear is a thrusting, not a throwing, weapon.
I think the Spearchucker came 1st.
Ancestors of Spearchucker Jones
This is a veiled racist article, clearly implying spearchuckers.
And it’s Bush’s fault too,
QED
Bad news... sounds like the palees have skipped development of a nuclear weapon, and gone for the time machine instead. They must have gone back and instantiated some 280,000 year old Intafadahs that we are just now learning about.
Beautiful stone.
No hominid ever had an atlatl, ever. The atlatl was the planet's first super weapon and it was the thing which allowed Cro Magnon man to eliminate Neanderthals and other hominids from the planet, and Cro Magnon does not date from further back than around 45,000 years ago.
Apes and hominids did not have the kinds of shoulders you'd want for throwing things or using something like an atlatl. The dating scheme these guys are using is FUBAR.
The relationship between Cro Magnon Man and the people of Genesis...
I thought the article was referring to the spear thrower—but what good is a thrower without a spear? The 80,000 year discrepancy seems sort of trivial to me, anyway. There are no written records of course, so new discoveries are bound to upset older theories.
Apes & monkeys throw poo
Do you suppose the author misunderstands the concept of "dogma" or just chooses to misuse it?
And this material is peddled as science? How about that?
The making of a spear is rather complicated and requires a whole lotta thinking.
You would have to conjure up putting holes into your target to end it’s life or threat.
You might initially think “Hey, what if a put a point on this thing. That outta make it easier to puncture it”.
Which would mean you understand that injuring something enough times will end its life or hitting an organ will end its life even faster.
Then you have to think “Well, that’s a great idea but, the hide, sinew, muscles and bones have to be compromised enough that my point stick will do the job”
“Hmmmm, the object I have isn’t going to be particularly effective. How could I improve it?”
So then you would find some harder than wood pointy object and understand that it fits the bill but, being found in a natural state it likely won’t just fit on the end of your stick and your not quite sure how to affix the two objects together.
“Hey, Maybe I make some cordage from sinew, vines, etc and tie this thing on there”.
So you do all this and learn that the pointy piece doesn’t stay on the pointy stick and is only somewhat effective.
“Fk! I’m starving”.
New idea “Hey maybe I put a slit on the end of my pointy stick, place the hard pointy object into the slit and tie it on there again”.
Still, it works somewhat better than the previous “somewhat better” project.
“What to do? What to do?”
So you says to your self “Self. You need to create a foolproof way of affixing this pointy object to the pointy stick, so it doesn’t come off and can be used over and over again”.
So you experiment with many ways of wrapping the pointy object to the pointy stick and learn what seems to be the most effective method.
You go hunting because McDonalds isn’t any where near you and discover that indeed you have improved your ability to kill dinner.
But, “Where am I going to find more pointy objects to attach to my pointy stick, so I can hunt all the day long?”
“Maybe I this obsidian shiny thing can be crafted to a perfect shape and made scalpel sharp?”
So you experiment for a hunting season with various ways of improving this black piece of rock before discovering that if you take a particular type of rock that is harder than the obsidian and place it on a flat surface with this nice piece of leather underneath and to hold it while you work on your arts and craft project, maybe that will be easier.
Heck, you might even think using an antler you had mounted above your campfire will make just the right tool to maybe “Knap” this rock into just the right shape and chip it just so, leaving a razor sharp edge that will slice through “Mr. Deer” fairly easy if you can throw it accurately.
Sooooohhhhhh, man came first and discovered how to put “the other white meat” on the dinner table.
Should we be talking about spear chuckers in a time of racial turmoil?
The catcher?